On Saturday, January 10, the three councils that support Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—held their meeting in the joint format. In this structure, all three councils meet together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. Their practice is to share the minutes in a news story with the PYM community in the weeks following the meeting.
Peace & Social Justice
Quick Facts About Indigenous Americans | A Resource from the Indigenous Affairs Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting
The following was and provided by the Indigenous Affairs Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting.
Where do you look for facts about Indigenous Americans?
Now a Native-led research team has made them available in one free document you can download, use, and distribute as needed.
Quick Facts About Indigenous Americans is a compendium of current information that provides an overview of life circumstances for many American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. While this population is too large and diverse to represent in any one document, common challenges can be outlined. Inequities are stark, and solutions are called for – including full funding of federal programs. At a time when the administration is drastically cutting funds and failing to honor established rights, Quick Facts provides evidence of the injustice of such arbitrary actions.
The data digest was prepared by Alexis Contreras (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) and sponsored and produced by the Indigenous Affairs Committee of a regional Quaker group, Baltimore Yearly Meeting. Quakers started the Committee in 1795 to protect Tribal rights and individual well-being; it continues as an advocacy and ally group.
Native leader Suzan Shown Harjo describes Quick Facts as baseline data “for those trying to share needs and concerns of Native Peoples… a free report, in digital, searchable format.”
The data digest is available at this link. It may be freely used without permission.
For further information or to provide feedback on this document, contact indigenousaffairs@bym-rsf.org or go to https://bit.ly/3Ks8b8x
December 2025 | Joint Council Update
On Saturday, December 13, the three councils that support Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—held their meeting in the joint format. In this structure, all three councils meet together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. Their practice is to share the minutes in a news story with the PYM community in the weeks following the meeting.
At Haverford Meeting, a Friend Shares on Faith & Play and Multigenerational Learning
Erin Lehman serves on the planning committee for the Learning for Life – A Religious Education Thread Gathering. She is a member of Haverford Friends Meeting and is involved in religious education there, including Faith & Play.
“I want people to know the Thread Gathering is not just for families with kids,” Erin said. “It’s about all of us learning more about Quakerism.”
A New Jersey Friend Collaborates with Meeting Members and Neighbors for Food Donations
Jeanne Van Orman of Princeton Monthly Meeting in New Jersey is partnering with her meeting and her retirement community, Princeton Windrows to gather food and deliver it to Mercer Street Friends using the support from the driver at Princeton Windrows.
December Brings Together Our Shared Faith in PYM
November opened Philadelphia Yearly Meeting with Friends from across our region gathering for Fall Continuing Sessions activities on Zoom and at Arch Street Meeting House. Friends took part in affinity groups, worship, business sessions, and a multigenerational workshop; Fall Continuing Sessions also welcomed Chris Mohr as General Secretary.
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Press Release | Democracy Forward Takes Action to Stop Reported Holiday Raids on Houses of Worship
Coalition Files Notice After Reports Emerge of Renewed Threats of Immigration Raids
Boston, MA – A coalition of faith-based organizations and houses of worship filed a notice with the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts in New England Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, et al., v. Department of Homeland Security, et al., after multiple reports indicated that the Trump-Vance administration is preparing immigration enforcement operations inside churches with Spanish-speaking congregations and other houses of worship during the upcoming holiday season. Pastors in New England, Georgia, and North Carolina have described visits from federal agents requesting names and addresses of congregants. U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys have also reportedly held internal briefings referencing a nationwide holiday plan targeting religious communities.
Medford Monthly Meeting Expanded Social Justice Minute
Medford Monthly Meeting has recently added an expanded social justice minute to our racial justice minute of 2021. During this process the meeting made minimal changes to the original minute and decided to keep them as two separate minutes.
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PYM Explained • A Resource on How Meetings, Friends, Ministries, and Structures Link
Each part of PYM Explained provides how the yearly meeting lives as one connected body and leads into what comes next. This virtual version is shared so Friends are able to interact with it for easy research and finding.
West Philadelphia Friends: A Community Is Valued and Valuable
In West Philadelphia, on Baltimore and 48th, there’s a building where Friends gather to meet. It is not a meetinghouse, but inside those walls, a small community keeps a meeting thriving.
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